California Department of Transportation

Caltrans Responds to Senate Bay Bridge Review Panel Report

SACRAMENTO – Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty today responded to a Senate review panel report on the design and construction of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge East Span, lauding the findings and reaffirming the department’s commitment to building upon the report’s recommendations.

"We are pleased with the assessment released today by the independent engineers assembled by the California Senate Transportation and Housing Committee,” said Dougherty. “The conclusions reached are consistent with what Caltrans and all independent prior reviews have said: the Bay Bridge is safe and will provide Bay Area commuters with a stunning and reliable corridor for years to come."

The panel’s report findings in the four key tasks assigned to the review committee indicate that Caltrans:

Used appropriate design criteria for the Bay Bridge

Used appropriate procedures in the design and construction of the Tower Foundation

Performed appropriate analyses to address the impact of potential construction defects, and

Implemented an appropriate repair on Tower 2 to restore the strength provided by the original design.

Acknowledging that the report has many technical recommendations needing further review and analysis, Dougherty added that, “Caltrans will continue to evaluate the recommendations included and build on lessons learned going forward to improve management practices on mega projects in California. We fully intend on following through on all appropriate recommendations to assure the maximum value of this bridge to the taxpayers.”